caution: construction underway

This summer I work in the middle of a construction zone. Campus is virtually littered with jack hammers, dynamite (more on that later), heavy equipment, and construction workers.

Right outside the front entrance to the library, they've decided to repave the pedestrian mall. I'm sure it will be very lovely when they're done, but until then they've made it so difficult to find the entrance to the building that our number one question phone these days is "How on earth do you get into the library?" There's just one little, tiny walkway they've left open so that people can get into the front entrance. It's lined with orange netting and honestly doesn't really look that inviting. Plus, there are always about 10 to 15 construction workers just sitting around doing nothing but watch people who walk in and out of the library.

The other major construction project is that they've decided to lower the Quad and dig a tunnel under Main Street to connect two parts of campus. Also, they're trying to make it safer for pedestrians. Evidently several pedestrians have died while jaywalking in this particular spot. They used to have a crosswalk there, but the locals complained that it slowed down traffic.

So now instead of doing something simple, like putting in a crosswalk, they're literally blasting a tunnel under the street. I'm convinced it would be more cost-effective, easier, and less time consuming to build a walkway over the street, but that's now to be... For a while there were blasting zone signs posted around that part of campus as they were using dynamite (or some other explosive) to blast through the rock.

Oh, and did I mention that to accommodate all this construction (they're also renovating the classroom building next to the library) they've taken over all of the parking lots anywhere near the library. So I usually end up parking in the lot across Main Street (yes, by the blasting zone) and jaywalking. Funny how that happens.

For a while all of the major roads between my apartment and campus were also torn up for resurfacing. My entire route to work--both by car and on foot--was under construction. Ridiculous. Do they not want me to go to work? Because it's hard to imagine how they could have made it more difficult. I'll take time off if you really don't want to be at work, and I won't even complain. Promise ;)